Self-cleaning cinder ladle



April 1941. J. R. RADCLIFFE 2,238,750

SELF-CLEANING C INDER LADLE Filed May 15, 1940 3 Wu e/wbom J 7c/ IPOSC'OE I640 01. IFFE.

Patented Apr. 15, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SELF-CLEANING CINDER LADLE Jack Roscoe Radclifie, Dundalk, Md.

Application May 15, 1940, Serial No. 335,253

1 Claim.

This invention refers to blast furnace equipment, and more particularly to the cinder ladle cars used for receiving and carrying off slag and ashes from blast furnaces after a pour. It has among its objects to provide a ladle car of this type that will have all the features of the conventional car ladle and in addition provide for complete removal of the contents of the ladle at the first dumping step; that will provide for the automatic removal of the chilled slag coating attached to the walls of the ladle at pouring; which will be expeditious in operation and less harmful to the car structure, and less dangerous to the operator.

Other objects will become apparent as the invention is more fully set forth.

Ashes and slag are poured into the conventional ladle of a cinder car from the blast furnace at the end of the pour. The car is then taken to the dump selected and the ladle tilted into a dumping position towards the side to discharge the contents. When the hot molten slag has been discharged, a. shell or coating of slag remains in the ladle. This shell or coating must then be removed, and in its accomplishment, some six laborers are employed for the work. The latter strike certain parts of the car, structure with heavy bars to loosen the coating of slag and in doing so have to be careful to avoid injury to the ladle and themselves. The work is tedious and frequently delays the reuse of the ladle car for two hours or more. This delays or holds-up the use of a whole train of ladle cars for the greater part of the day. This interferes with production, is costly, in that it requires additional labor, involves damage and repairs to thecar equipment, by reason of the rough treatment it is necessarily subjected to; causes an additional number of personal injuries to the workers on the ladle cars to a proportionate degree; and prevents continuous and efficient use of the trackage utilized during such periods.

This invention avoids these difliculties by eliminating the necessity of beating or shaking of the car structure or ladle to loosen the slag coating. This is accomplished through the use of a false bottom in the ladle adapted to push on the solidified shell of chilled slag and force it up from the bottom of the ladle, ready to fall out, in one piece. This is done automatically after the ladle has discharged the molten material over its tipped wall, by tilting the ladle over more, to bring the false bottom into play and force the shell of slag out in one piece. As the' hold or adhesiveness of the metal cinders etc.

- polished it readily slips out of the ladle.

is released from the surfaces of the ladles walls, and the shell being smooth and more or less The false bottom rests in a recess inside the ladle at the bottom and serves as a part of the ladle to support the cinders and slag poured into same. It has a mechanism attached to it serving to operate it from the exterior of the ladle. This mechanism forces wedge connecting parts or the like inwardly into the ladle so as to lift the false bottom up and cause it to break the adhesiveness of the shell of slag, to the ladle. The wedge operates from the general mechanism of the ladle in cooperation with the dumping of the slag, at the proper moment. There is no manual handling required during the process, and the operation is done so quickly and effectively that no time is lost.

In the drawing which illustrates an example of this invention:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a ladle embodying this invention, attached to a conventional type of ladle car, indicated in dotted outline;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the ladle indicated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional detail showing the general structure of false bottom and wedge mechanism in normal closed position;

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic detail of the links and wedge mechanism indicating the manner of operation thereof; Figure 5 is a diagrammatic detail of the ladle in various operative positions, A indicating normal position, B pouring position, and C slag shell dumping position; and

Figure 6 is a section through the ladle to indicate the general form of the slag shell formed on the wall of the ladle during pour.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

A conventional ladle car I, provided with trucks and wheels for travel on railroad tracks and journals of the roller type surmounting them, with a connecting cross underbeam for completing the intervening structure in between the trucks. The car is indicated in dotted outline in Figure 1. A ladle 2, for the reception of molten slag cinders is of inverted hollow cone form with its bottom portion 9 recessed at Hi for a false bottom element II to fit flush into it, when in normal position. This false bottom raises up (see Fig. 3) against the action of a tension spring 5 in a manner to be described, when it is used to e ect the slag shell from the inner surface of the ladle. Suspension shafts 3 are attached to the walls of the ladle as shown, are provided with couplings 4 that connect to the extensions of the shafts that rest on the rollers in the journals supported by the truck structure. The shafts are horizontally disposed and rotate to tilt the ladle over sidewise. A neck member I2 is integrally attached to the underside of the false bottom element 9, and reciprocate within the encasement piece 22 to raise and lower the false bottom 9. The neck member I2 operates within the walls of an'opening l3 provided in the encasement bottom 22 of the ladle, as indicated in Figure 3. A boss H3 is attached to the neck piece underneath and serves to guide the tension spring [2. The shafts are turned through the use of a'gear 6 mounted on one of them and engaged with a worm gear I mounted on the framework of the structure and actuated through a suitable motor 8 attached thereto. The neck reciprocates in the opening 13 and is guided thereby and incidentally retains the false bottom properly placed for its purposes and operation. The neck is connected with a wedge mechanism l l, consisting of a series of links I5 and I6 con- ,nected to a post ll, mounted on a framework of the tilting movements of the ladle. The spring 5, attached to the neck and encasement piece 22, tends to return the false bottom to the recess when the wedge parts do not keep it raised. The wedge mechanism straddles this spring 5, so as not to interfere with its operation.

The action of tilting the ladle, brings its bottom portion around to a nearly horizontal position from its normal vertical position. This makes the distance from the post I! increase sufficiently to put a tension on the links 15 and I6 and pull the wedge mechanism against the tension of the spring 5 towards the motor side of the car structure. At a predetermined position of the tilting, the wedge mechanism 14 causes its wedge piece 18 to contact the neck 12 and raise the false bottom abovethe bottom internal surface of the ladle. A portion of the wedge I4 is made straight or so it will not actuate the neck until the proper position of the ladle is reached for expelling the shell of solidified slag. The neck and false bottom are returned to their normal positions in the ladle structure under the action of the spring 5, when the ladle is tilted back towards normal and the wedge mechanism is allowed to return back to the. position indicated in Figure 1 and Figure 3. The spring 5 is in tension tending to pull and keep the false bottom in the recess in the bottom of the ladle. Lifting or raising the false bottom increases the tension because the spring 5 is extended, being fastened to the bottom at one end and the encasement member 22 at the other. When the wedge mechanism l8 forces itself under the bottom portion of the false bottom, it wedges same up against the tension of the spring 5. When the wedge mechanism is pushed back under the pressure of the spring 2i and arm l5 it is moved from under the false bottom and allows same to be pulled back into the recess by the spring 5.

In the operation of the ladle and ladle car, the molten slag is poured into the ladle while it is positioned vertically, after which the car is taken to the dumping location. At this location the motor 8 is started to operate the gears 6 and 1 and turn the shafts 3 and ladle. The ladle 2, is brought to its pouring position and dumps the molten slag, leaving the shell of slag adhering to the wall of the ladle. The ladle is then tilted more causing the false bottom to press on the rounded bottom of the shell, breaks its adhesion to the surface of the ladle, and causing it to slide out to the ground.

The amount of tilting for the pouring depends on the angular inclination of the Wall of the ladle to. its axis. Any, angle beyond the horizontal that the inside surface line of the ladle may lie in, is generally sufiicient to cause the pouring of the slag to proceed adequately. In practice. the position of the ladle is predetermined to suit the conditions practically. However when the greater part of the slag has been poured out, the remaining material has congealed and solidified along the wall of the ladle and fastens itself to same, more or less adhesively. This material becomes like a shell, and can be removed in one piece if its surface adhesive tension is disrupted. To accomplish this, the shell of hardened slag is pushed up at the bottom by the false bottom as the mechanism and neck force it to so lift up. Since the walls are cone-shaped, they progressively enlarge from the bottom towards the top, so that the pushing of the shell of hardened slag moves the latter from close contact or nesting with the walls to a loose and ready-to-fall-out position in the ladle. Previous to the operation of thefalse bottom, the ladle is brought over to a more tipping position than for pouring to enable the shell to slide out more easily, a soon as it is released from its adhesion to the surface of the ladle. When the slag shell has been discharged from the ladle to; the ground, the operator reverses the motor causing the gears to raise the ladle to its normal vertical position, and operate the mechanism toreturn the false bottom to its place in the ladle. The cinder ladle car is then taken over the tracks to storage or for further carrying and dumping of slag.

The time required for the operations of dumping the slag, followed by an increased tilting of the ladle and the discharge of the slag shell, is in toto a matter of a very short period. It requires considerably less time than the usual method of pouring and removing the slag and itsshell, while at the same time, no damage is necessarily done to thestructure of the ladle car or the ladle, and six orseven laborers required, under existing conditions are eliminated. The action of removing or separating the slag shell from the ladle is provided for in the automatic manner provided. The first tilting of the ladle pours the molten slag from it, but does not work or actuate the false bottom. Neither would the shell fall out of the ladle at the angle of tilting used for pouring. The ladle is tilted on a downward angle, and at the same time the rod links actuate the wedge mechanism and raise the false bottom in the ladle, causing the slag shell to be raised with it. The downward tilting position of the ladle enables the shell to slide out easily when the false bottom lifts its sufficiently to break its adhesive contact with the sides or Wall of the ladle, which is done at such tilting. The return movement of the ladle shortens the links, and under the tension of the springs the wedge mechanism and false bottom return to their normal positions.

While but one form of the invention is shown in the drawing and described in the specification, it is not desired to limit this application for patent to this particular form or in any other way otherwise than limited by the claim, as it is appreciated that other forms might be made, using the same principles and coming within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

In a ladle of the class described, the combination of bell-like body with its lower portion recessed and provided with a opening leading oif therefrom, a false bottom normally flush with the internal surface of the body having a neck extending therefrom through the opening, a resilient means for normally bringing the false 

